PORTABLE ELECTRONIC DEVICE INCLUDING TOUCH-SENSITIVE DISPLAY

• US 20120146910A1
• Filed: 12/13/2010
• Published: 06/14/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 12/13/2010
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Inventors: GRIFFIN, Jason Tyler
• Application Number:
  US12/966,794
• Publication Number:
  US 20120146910A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/168
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 1/1662 Details related to the integrated keyboard
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0233 Character input methods
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04886 by partitioning the display area of the touch-screen or the surface of the digitising tablet into independently controllable areas, e.g. virtual keyboards or menus

Abstract

A portable electronic device includes a body having a front face, a touch-sensitive display exposed at the front face of the body, a keyboard at the front face and having keys associated with a first plurality of characters excluding numerical characters such that keys of the keyboard are associated with a respective one of a function and a plurality of the alphabetical characters, a memory, and a processor. The processor is coupled to the touch-sensitive display, the keyboard, and the memory to display a second plurality of characters utilizing the touch-sensitive display in response to receipt of an input to display the second plurality of characters.

Claims

1. A portable electronic device comprising:

a body having a front face;

a touch-sensitive display exposed at the front face of the body;

a keyboard at the front face and having keys associated with a first plurality of characters excluding numerical characters, such that keys of the keyboard are associated with a respective one of a function and at least two alphabetical characters;

a memory; and

a processor coupled to the touch-sensitive display, the keyboard, and the memory to display a second plurality of characters in response to receipt of an input to display the second plurality of characters, wherein the second plurality of characters are selectable utilizing the touch-sensitive display.

2. The portable electronic device of claim 1, wherein the keyboard includes function keys each associated with a respective single function.

3. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the input comprises detection of a touch at a location associated with a feature on the touch-sensitive display.

4. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein an option to display the second plurality of characters is provided via the touch-sensitive display.

5. The portable electronic device according to claim 4, wherein the second plurality of characters comprises numerical characters.

6. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein options to provide the second plurality of characters are displayed on the touch-sensitive display.

7. The portable electronic device according to claim 6, wherein the options include a numerical character option and a punctuation option.

8. The portable electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the options include a symbol option.

9. The portable electronic device according to claim 7, wherein the options include an emoticon option.

10. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a navigation device is rendered on the touch-sensitive display.

11. The portable electronic device according to claim 12, wherein the first plurality of characters includes punctuation marks.

12. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the touch-sensitive display covers a majority of the area of the front face.

13. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the keyboard comprises a mechanical keyboard.

14. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the keyboard comprises a touch-sensitive keyboard.

15. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the keyboard comprises three or fewer rows of keys.

16. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the keyboard comprises a single row of keys.

17. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein disambiguation is utilized to determine ones of the first plurality of characters entered utilizing the keyboard.

18. The portable electronic device according to claim 1, wherein text prediction is utilized to predict words during entry of ones of the first plurality of characters utilizing the keyboard.

19. A method of controlling a portable electronic device comprising a body having a front face, a touch-sensitive display exposed at the front face of the body, a keyboard at the front face and having keys associated with a first plurality of characters excluding numerical characters, such that keys of the keyboard are associated with a respective one of a function and at least two alphabetical characters, the method comprising:

detecting a touch on the touch-sensitive display; and

displaying a second plurality of characters utilizing the touch-sensitive display when the touch is associated with an option to provide further selectable characters.

20. A computer-readable medium having computer-readable code executable by at least one processor of the portable electronic device to perform the method of claim 19.